Commodities or something better

There are two problems with creating and offering commodities.

First, YOU largely don’t matter.

Second, commodities are things that are ultimately useless all on their own, without context — without the broader story.

Let’s break this down quick so we stop creating commodities in our work.

The value of a commodity is that they can be bought or sold (or experienced) in bulk, as quickly as possible, according to the person’s needs or wants. Each raw asset, however, is rather useless by itself. Gold is gold. Corn is corn. Iron is iron.

Any commodity — whether it’s gold, wheat, iron, corn, or the content you create — is rather useless without the story of what could be.

The value to the audience is in helping the audience see what’s possible, not merely meeting their demand for the commodity itself. What does owning the commodity (or receiving the educational or entertaining content you publish) make possible? What does it say another them to others, or earn them from others?

Handing someone a soft, shiny, yellowish metal is rather useless. “Here’s some gold. Now you own some.” Not much value there, really. But once you help them start to imagine what could be, then the gold seems a little more valuable.

“Here’s some gold. Now you own some. And with the gold you own, you can create some jewelry to feel beautiful or gift to someone else. You can trade all of this gold for something big you want or need. You can melt this gold and mold smaller bits of it called coins that let you start trading it in smaller pieces for lots of things you want or need. Or you can just stash the gold somewhere if you believe that people in the future will value gold more highly than they do now, which makes you wealthier in the future than you are right now.” 

Only when you start to understand what could be, aka the story, does a commodity seem like it has much value.

The thing is, to understand what could be, you need to be an expert in that commodity, or else consult an expert. It’s rather hilarious to imagine somebody in our society being told they have some gold and having zero idea of what could be as a result of possessing this valuable commodity, but imagine that was the case. Imagine you had no idea what you could do with gold. You don’t understand the possibilities.

Congratulations. You own some soft, shiny, yellowish metal. End of understanding.

This is what it’s like when we simply create and hand others commodities.

Now let’s switch from physical commodities to digital experiences -- i.e. the content you create. We’re no longer talking about gold or wheat or iron but knowledge as the commodity we share.

Moreover, commodity content answers common questions — often asked, often (and easily) answered. What’s the best time for a business to tweet? What’s hot in fashion in 2020? How can I get promoted? What happened last night on The Bachelor or in the NBA Finals? 

Commodity content addresses questions that are easily answered. And how does anyone with an internet connection experience questions and answers that are pretty easy to answer? They google it. They want the answer as quickly as possible. YOU don’t matter as long as the information is sound.

This is the central issue with so much direct marketing masquerading as content or experiences. It’s commodified. The creator thinks the goal is to “capture” demand, and so they focus on the raw asset: tips and tricks, knowledge, how-to information, or basic, empty calorie-type entertainment.

These are transactions for the audience, and the point of a transaction is to finish it as quickly as possible. Just give me the commodity and I’ll be on my way.

Hard to earn trust or love, no?

Don’t create transactional content. Don’t create commodities. Create something others want to invest time in experiencing, where the acquisition of knowledge or distraction isn’t their goal — participation is. Engagement is. Time spent with you is.

To do all that, we can’t just hand them commodities. We can’t pander. Instead, we can create things that include the broader story of what could be.

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